


Lingering Soul

by itbepansam



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Character Death, Dead People, M/M, Memory Loss, Pining, Slow Build, Tags May Change, ghost au, widomauk if you squint
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 16:00:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18391670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itbepansam/pseuds/itbepansam
Summary: Finding out you're dead is hard enough. It's even harder when you don't know how or when you died. And suddenly a strange group of colorful individuals take over your home, so you're left to ask them for help to figure out what happened.





	Lingering Soul

**Author's Note:**

> this was just a fun au idea i had that i wanted to experiment with, especially with matt creating an entire class dedicated to this specific type of thing. its a slow build but i hope you all enjoy reading this as much as i enjoy writing. i've got some ideas.

The wind blew softly through the old wood of the large house, making it creak and groan ever so faintly as the footsteps of people inside walked through it. Caleb watched from the corner, invisible, as the half-elf strolled through like she owned the place, smiling bright at the group she had brought into his home. He took a closer look at the group of them as they entered into the main living space.

There were six of them. They had been here once before, though Caleb wasn’t sure how long ago it had been. There was one human, her head shaved on the sides and the remaining hair tied in a bun on top. Her complexion was a little darker and she wore blues and greys. Caleb guessed she was a monk and upon a little closer inspection of her knuckles, notices how scarred over they were. Definitely a monk. Next to her stood a half-orc. There was no mistaking the green skin and rugged looks of the orc. No tusks though, which confused Caleb. Maybe he was just young. Behind him stood a pair of tieflings, though both vastly different from one another. One was blue from top to bottom, her hair tied back in a bun. She wore a dress that was decorated in flowers that flowed a bit when she walked. She had the brightest aura. The other tiefling was purple with bright red eyes and a gleaming smile that almost seemed to be directed at Caleb, though he knew that was impossible. The two taking up the rear were the largest. One was a firbolg, which was extremely fascinating to Caleb, as he had never seen one before. His hair was a bright pink that was shaved on one side and swept to the other side. The last one was a tall woman, her hair black with white tips. She would have looked extremely intimidating, if not for her very hunched figure and meek behavior. Caleb wondered about her and what she might be like. 

“Well, what do you think?” The half elf, who Caleb knew as Galia, asked, smiling to the group as she gestured towards the house. 

“It seems nice,” the blue tiefling said, her voice as bright as her aura. “And you said there were how many rooms again?”

“Seven rooms total, with three bathrooms, a kitchen, a patio and pool, a basement and an attic, along with this large living space.”

The group looked at each other. There was some muttering amongst them as they huddled together. Then the half-orc turned to the half-elf. 

“We’ll take it. Our things are right outside. Beau, Yasha, come help get all the stuff while I pay the nice lady for the property. Cad, you mind getting some lunch set up?”

“Already on it.” Oh, Caleb was going to like this firbolg. His voice was so calming to listen to. Caleb watched him disappear into the kitchen around the corner. The two tieflings looked to each other, then made way for the stairs. Caleb followed them, still invisible, and floating slightly above the floor. 

“Come on, Molly. There’s gotta be some cool old stuff in here,” the blue one said. “I wonder if this place is haunted.”

“I hope so. I bet Caduceus would get a kick out of a ghost. Plus, it’ll be fun to terrorize Fjord.” 

Caleb smiled to himself, floating up and phasing through the floor so he could meet them on the next landing. 

“So, it looks like there's four rooms here upstairs. Yasha and I can share a bathroom, having done so for so long in the circus.” Well, that explained a bit of the obnoxious outfit that the purple tiefling wore. “I assume you and Beau will share a bathroom as well?” They began to open doors and inspect rooms. 

“Probably. Unless Caduceus wants to. But he may want a downstairs bedroom so he can be near the kitchen. I bet he’ll probably start a garden in his room or something,” the blue one said, nodding and almost dancing through the house. 

Suddenly, there was a soft  _ thump _ from one of the rooms at the end of the hall. Caleb frowned and floated over to phase through the door. Inside he found an apparently empty room, though from out the corner of his eye saw a little shape move under the bed. He heard the door open behind him as he floated over and phased ducked low in order to see what he had seen. And he found a familiar small green figure and smiled. Caleb glanced back and saw the two tieflings enter, flanking to either side of the bed. The purple one appeared to be bringing out a sword while the blue one began to mutter softly under her breath, which Caleb recognized as a spell, which made him panic slightly. 

After half a second of thinking, Caleb decided to, against his better judgement, make himself visible by dropping to the floor and holding his hands out. The two turned to him in a sudden panic. Both of their attacks went to him, though they just passed through him, making them both jump back and look at each other in fear. 

“Whoa, okay, okay. Let’s not get too crazy, ja?” Caleb held his hands out to both of them, trying to appear as non hostile as possible. “You can’t hurt me but I can mess with you, though I don't really want to.” 

“We-Were  _ you  _ the one that made that noise?” The blue one asked. 

“Wait, who  _ are  _ you?” The purple one now held both his swords aloft, his red eyes glaring at him. 

“My name is Caleb Widogast. A long time ago, this was my home.”

“Well, Mr. Caleb. Can I ask what made that noise, then?” 

“That was me, sorry.” Behind Caleb, appeared the small goblin that he knew as Nott. 

“Now, who are you? Are you a ghost, too?”

“Uh, no, I don’t think so. My name is Nott, the Brave.” She glanced up at Caleb, who smiled softly. 

“Why are you here?”

“I’ve been living here for the past six months. I was on the run and found this place. And when Caleb didn’t kill me on sight, I decided to stay.”

“May I ask who you are?” Caleb asked the other. 

“My name is Jester. This is Mollymauk.” 

Caleb nodded. “It is nice to meet you both. Welcome to my home.”

“How long have you been dead?” The purple one, Mollymauk, asked. 

“Oh, five years or so? It's hard to keep track sometimes.” He began to hover once more, though not going full ethereal and invisible. 

“Do you know why you're a ghost and why you didn't pass on?” Jester asked, stepping a little closer. Nott, who was still behind Caleb, stepped back a bit against the foot of the bed, which made the tiefling stop and try to seem nonthreatening. 

“No, I don't. If I did, I probably wouldn't be here.”

“That makes sense.”

They all looked at each other for a moment. Mollymauk had put away his swords at this point. And suddenly, the door opened to the half-orc fellow walking in. He was about to say something but stopped when he saw Caleb. Without warning, he fired magic at him, which passed by and hit the opposite wall with a splash. 

“What the fuck is that?!” He exclaimed, pulling a sword out of seemingly nowhere. Interesting.

“Fjord, this is Caleb and his friend Nott. Caleb here is a ghost and was the original owner of the house,” Mollymauk explained, stepping closer to the newcomer and visually trying to ease the tension. Nott had stepped forward and in front of Caleb, almost protectively, drawing her crossbow. 

The half orc, Fjord, looked between the four of them in confusion and the faintest hint of fear. Caleb had never met someone so afraid of the supernatural, which was a bit interesting to him. He wondered if there was a story there, though he didn’t have time to try and ask as the large woman with multi colored hair charged in with a giant sword. She looked angry. 

“Yasha, wait!” Mollymauk stepped between her and Caleb. Most of the others ran in as well, all with weapons ready. 

“What the fuck?” The human monk stepped forward with her fists ready. 

“Everyone calm down!” Jester was speaking now. “This is Caleb. He lived here. And he died. Now he’s a ghost.” 

“How did you die?” Fjord asked. 

“As I told Jester, I don't remember. I woke up one day and realized I was dead.”

The group didn’t seem to like that answer. Caleb bit his lip nervously. He was a ghost, but he knew he had certain abilities he could do in order to protect himself, though he really despised doing them, especially to seemingly nice people.

“Caleb… Am I going to have to leave?” Nott asked, looking up at him. 

He looked down at her, then to the group before him. “I know I'm a stranger to you, a dead one at that, but I would greatly appreciate it if my little friend here could stay.”

Fjord looked to the monk, though before he could say anything, Jester interrupted. 

“We can't just throw her into the snow!”

“We have enough rooms,” Mollymauk added. 

“We don't know anything about either of them. Why should we trust them?” The monk asked, crossing her arms. 

“This is his home, Beau!” Jester exclaimed. 

“Not anymore! He’s dead and we bought it fair and square!”

The large woman stepped forward. She towered over him. Visually she was intimidating, though her eyes looked soft, almost caring. Caleb would like to get to know her if given the chance. She seemed to be a lot more than her appearance and that intrigued Caleb greatly. 

“Do you care for this goblin?” She asked, her voice so much softer than he was anticipating. 

“I do. She is the closest thing I have had to a friend in a very long time,” he replied, looking down to Nott, who looked very wary of everyone. Had Caleb been corporeal, he wondered if she would perhaps be clutching the back of his pant leg. 

“We’ll let you stay, as long as you pull your weight.” 

“I will, I promise! I’m good at hunting down rats and things to eat.”

“Oh, good! I love rats!” 

With that, Nott beamed, excited to have someone who was perhaps more like her. “I caught a couple this morning, but I didn’t have a chance to eat them yet. Would you like one?” 

“Yes, please!” The woman beamed back. “My name is Yasha, by the way.”

“I am Nott, the Brave. Come! I put them in my little secret stash downstairs, so it wouldn’t bother Caleb.” And with that the two walked past the others and vanished down the hall and stairs. 

“Hey, Caduceus,” Fjord called down the hall. The firbolg walked in and looked at Caleb. His eyes went wide and Caleb saw him grip the staff a little. “You think you can do something?”

“I can definitely do something. But what I can do will get rid of him.” 

Jester stood in front of Caleb, her back to him. Caleb couldn't believe her kindness, especially since they had just met moments ago. “We aren’t going to get rid of him. This is his home as much as it is ours.”

“I know I am a ghost,” Caleb started. “I’m not naive enough to think that everyone will get along with me. But I tell you the truth that I don’t wish any of you harm. I just want to exist, maybe figure out how I can pass on easily.”

The firbolg was quiet for a moment, eyeing Caleb warily. He didn't seem to like Caleb. “I’m from a graveyard. I am a frequent talker with the dead. I haven’t had the best experiences with ghosts, but you don’t seem like most ghosts. Though, I would need your body to do what I need to. You wouldn’t happen to know where that is, would you?” 

Caleb shook his head. “I’m not even sure what killed me. Last thing I remember from being alive was having dinner with my parents. Next thing I knew, I could pass through walls and the house was empty.” 

Caduceus nodded, a bit of a frown sitting on his face. “Well, maybe together we can figure this out,” he suggested. “The sooner we figure it out, the sooner you can pass on.”

“I like that idea,” Caleb gave a small smile, thankful that the group didn't seem to want to immediately exorcise him. In fact, a few of them wanted to help him. He was sure that it would take time for all of them to trust him, as he would need time to trust them, but it was a start. A good origin point for the beginning of what Caleb hoped to be a wonderful friendship between him and this group of weirdos. 


End file.
